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United States Patent |
5,348,300
|
Jennings
|
September 20, 1994
|
Cosmic communication cubes
Abstract
A set of dice, each die being a transparent, six-sided cube. A number of
extrusions or marking indicia are located on each of the outer surfaces of
the dice and are numbered, lettered or otherwise designated. The interior
of each die is hollow, with small impressions on the inner surfaces
located directly opposite the extrusions. A ball is disposed inside each
die and is free to move around the hollow interior. The interior
impressions are sized so that the ball will settle in one of the
impressions when the die comes to rest after being thrown. Each of the
impressions lies directly beneath a an extrusion or marking indicia on the
upwardly facing outer surface of the die, which is read to determine the
outcome of the toss. Thus, each toss of the dice will generate different
numbers for use in games of chance such as lotteries and the like.
Inventors:
|
Jennings; Melvin R. (P.O. Box 11291, Jackson, MS 39213)
|
Appl. No.:
|
094212 |
Filed:
|
July 21, 1993 |
Current U.S. Class: |
273/146; 446/14 |
Intern'l Class: |
A63F 009/04 |
Field of Search: |
273/146
446/14
|
References Cited
U.S. Patent Documents
D142576 | Jan., 1945 | Morris | 273/146.
|
3400932 | Jun., 1965 | Conrad | 273/146.
|
3495832 | Feb., 1970 | Thomassen-Behle | 273/146.
|
3799554 | Mar., 1974 | Simons | 273/146.
|
4164351 | Aug., 1979 | Baker | 273/146.
|
5018738 | May., 1991 | Padi | 273/146.
|
5223958 | Jun., 1993 | Berry | 273/146.
|
Foreign Patent Documents |
3425102 | Jan., 1986 | DE | 273/146.
|
Primary Examiner: Layno; Benjamin H.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Ostrolenk, Faber, Gerb & Soffen
Parent Case Text
This is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 07/970,184, filed
Nov. 2, 1992, now abandoned.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A die having a hollow interior, comprising:
a transparent body having a plurality of outer surfaces, a plurality of
inner surfaces, and a space within said inner surfaces defining said
hollow interior;
a plurality of marking indicia disposed on each of said outer surfaces;
a plurality of impressions in each of said inner surfaces located at
positions directly opposite to said marking indicia on said outer
surfaces; and
a spherical member freely movable in the hollow interior, said spherical
member having a weight equal to the weight of said hollow die without said
spherical member;
whereby, upon being rolled, said die will come to rest on an outer surface,
and said spherical member will come to rest in one of the impressions.
2. A die as recited in claim 1, wherein said marking indicia comprise
extrusions.
3. A die as recited in claim 2, comprising six inner and outer surfaces.
4. A die as recited in claim 3, wherein each of said six outer surfaces of
said die has eight extrusions.
5. A die as recited in claim 4, wherein said extrusions are numbered
sequentially from 1 to 48.
6. A die as recited in claim 3, wherein four of said six outer surfaces of
each die have seven extrusions and two of said six outer surfaces of said
die have eight extrusions.
7. A die as recited in claim 6, wherein said extrusions are numbered
sequentially from 1 to 44.
8. A die as recited in claim 3, wherein each of said six outer surfaces
contains nine extrusions.
9. A die as recited in claim 8, wherein said extrusions are numbered
sequentially from 1 to 54.
10. A die as recited in claim 1, wherein said spherical member is a metal
ball.
11. A die as recited in claim 1, wherein said transparent body is
constructed of a transparent thermoplastic material, the color of which
changes based upon the temperature of the material.
12. A die as recited in claim 1, wherein said transparent body of a die is
tinted in color.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to dice for generating random numbers and,
more particularly, to hollow, transparent dice containing an internal ball
which randomly determines the selected number upon a roll of the dice.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional set of dice consists of a pair of small cubes marked on each
face with from one to six spots. Dice are used in various games of chance.
Dice typically are shaken and/or thrown and allowed to come to rest at
random on a flat surface. The result of the toss is presented on the
upward-facing surfaces of the dice.
Variations on conventional dice concepts have been created and patented.
Specifically, dice having a hollow interior containing a spherical metal
ball are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 142,576 to Morris; U.S. Pat. No. 3,400,932
to Conrad; U.S. Pat. No. 5,018,738 to Padi; and German Patent Application
No. 3425102 to Hopp. Generally, the interior metal spheres of these
previously patented devices orient a conventional die by providing a low
center of gravity. The interior balls in the dice of these prior art
patents do not determine the number selected by the dice when they are
rolled. Moreover, prior art dice are limited in the numbers which may be
selected.
Thus, there is a need for dice which can randomly generate high numbers and
complex combinations such as those which might be encountered in a
multi-number lottery game system.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention comprises a set of dice, each die being a
transparent, six-sided cube. A number of extrusions or indicia are located
on each of the outer surfaces of the dice and are numbered, lettered or
otherwise designated. The interior of each die is hollow, with small
impressions on the inner surfaces located directly opposite the
extrusions. A ball is disposed inside each die and is free to move around
the hollow interior.
The interior impressions are sized so that the ball will settle in one of
the impressions when the die comes to rest after being thrown. Each of the
impressions lies directly beneath an extrusion or marking indicia on the
upwardly facing outer surface of the die, which is read to determine the
outcome of the toss. Thus, each toss of the dice will generate different
numbers for use in games of chance such as lotteries and the like.
Optionally, the dice may be constructed of a thermoplastic material capable
of changing color or hue based on the heat generated by the hands of the
user, or by friction, thereby adding to the complexity of the information
generated by each roll of the dice.
In addition, each die within the set may be tinted a different color or
different groupings of colors may be utilized, in order to impart
significance to each particular die or groupings of dice.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent
from the following description of the invention which refers to the
accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is an isometric view of the die of the present invention,
illustrating the indicating extrusions and the internal, outcome selecting
sphere.
FIG. 2 is a cut-away view showing the interior of the die of the present
invention, illustrating an alternative method of providing resting
positions for the outcome selecting sphere.
FIG. 3 illustrates three possible alternative layouts for the outer
surfaces of the dice.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring first to FIG. 1, the die of the present invention is indicated
generally by reference numeral 1. Die 1 has six outer surfaces 2, each
with a plurality of extrusions 4. The extrusions 4 may be designated with
numbers or letters. Die 1 has a hollow, cube-shaped interior defined by
the six inner surfaces 6, each of which has a plurality of impressions or
dimples 8 located directly opposite a corresponding extrusion 4 on the
outer surfaces.
A spherical ball 11 is disposed in the interior of die 1, and is free to
move within the space defined by interior surfaces 6.
The body of the die is preferably formed of a clear plastic material.
Optionally, the clear plastic may be tinted to provide various color
combinations. Alternatively, the plastic may be formed of a material which
changes color based on temperature, such as when the die is heated by the
hands of the user or by friction generated upon mechanical agitation.
The extrusions 4 and impressions 8 are preferably molded into the die as
part of the manufacturing process. Alternatively, the extrusions 4 may be
separate pieces detachable from the surface of the cube, thus allowing the
die to be customized for use in various games or applications.
Spherical ball 11 is composed of any suitable material including plastic,
metal, wood, rubber, etc. The ball 11 is of a weight and size sufficient
to allow the ball to come to rest unambiguously within one of the dimples,
and, in the preferred embodiment, is of equal weight as the shell of die
1.
In operation, die 1 is ordinarily used as one of a set of dice to be shaken
in the hand of a user, within a cup, or agitated by other commonly known
mechanical means. After sufficient manipulation, the dice are released and
allowed to come to rest on a preferably flat surface. Once at rest, the
internal spherical ball 11 will come to rest within one of the upwardly
facing dimples 8 on the bottom surface. The outcome selected by the dice
is determined by reading the value of the extrusion directly above the
location where ball 11 comes to rest.
FIG. 2, in which corresponding reference numerals represent corresponding
elements to FIG. 1, illustrates a cut-away view of the interior of a die
cube showing an alterative method of providing unique resting positions
for the outcome selecting sphere. Other possible configurations include
raised ridges dividing the areas. Preferably, the areas in which the
sphere will come to rest are of equal size to provide equal opportunity
for selection of each number position.
FIG. 3 illustrates three numbering arrangements among those which may be
utilized in carrying out the present invention. Thus, for example, each
side of the cube may contain seven, eight or nine different numbers;
additionally, as shown in FIG. 3, the sides of the cube may have different
numbering arrangements--for example, four sides of the cube may contain
seven numbers and the other two sides of the cube may contain eight
numbers. Numbering may be sequential (e.g. 1 to 48 for a cube having seven
number per side; or 1 to 54 for a cube having eight numbers per side) or
random. Numbers may also be placed on the inside of the cube on or around
the dimples to specify the outcome. Multiple numbers can also be placed on
or around each indicating position to make the cube more easily readable.
Further significance may be imparted to the values generated by each of the
dice by providing various colors for each die. Of course, any number of
extrusions or indicia may be provided on the surfaces of the dice, limited
only by the physical size of the dice and reasonable, unambiguous
readability of the outcome generated by each toss of the dice.
Although the present invention has been described in relation to particular
embodiments thereof, many other variations and modifications and other
uses will become apparent to those skilled in the art. It is preferred,
therefore, that the present invention be limited not by the specific
disclosure herein, but only by the appended claims.
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